The Night Ride
by Lilybud the Storyteller
Summary: After so many years of living in the forest, Vivi had quickly grown accustomed to bumps in the night. Whether it was animals or insects, strange noises at were exceedingly common in the woods. However, she wasn't prepared for a knock on the door. What will happen when Vivi encounters an unexpected visitor?


**Hello, people! This one-shot originally started from one of my other stories (a challenge story to write exactly 100 words per chapter), but no matter what I did, my chapter couldn't fit the requirements for the challenge. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I got a bit attached to this idea so I decided to make it into a one-shot. And…now you have the result of that! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon and its characters.**

**Warning: This story takes place after the chapter "Apple" in my other story, _By Any Other Name_. Though you probably don't need to read that to understand this one-shot, it may help nonetheless...**

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After so many years of living in the forest, Vivi had quickly grown accustomed to bumps in the night. Whether it was animals, insects, or annoying carpenters strange noises were exceedingly common in the woods.

However, she wasn't prepared for a knock on the door.

Vivi's head perked at the sudden sound, distracting her from the current brew she was working on. (She always worked better at night rather than the day.) The knock came again and Vivi figured it must be her sisters; they were the only ones she ever expected to visit, and they would usually come unannounced and _definitely_ uninvited.

Sighing, she decided to ignore the noise. Her sisters could wait the whole night for all she cared. They deserved it for the last time they had come over and destroyed her entire cottage. It had taken months to remove all of the entrails from the walls...

Returning to the cauldron, she added an herb that had dark, curled leaves. She clapped her hands and a spark of magic floated over the smoking brew; it hovered for a second before finally falling and dissolving into the liquid. The brew's previous murky gray color turned to a clear blue.

The Witch Princess then carefully picked up a measurement glass that contained a questionable red liquid. Narrowing her eyes, she cautiously tilted the cup and a thin stream leaked into the cauldron. The new ingredient made the brewing potion sizzle like bacon.

_Knock-knock-knock!_

Vivi's hand abruptly jerked in surprise and a gush of liquid accidentally flew into the brew, quickly mixing in. The brew then furiously fizzed at the excess ingredient. There was a loud _pop_ and billow of foul-smelling smoke rose up and cloaked Vivi's face.

Frantically waving away the fumes, the witch coughed repeatedly and backed away until the smoke passed. Eyes watering, she peered into the cauldron to see the damage that had taken place. The potion had transformed into a dull, brown color and, just like flat soda, it was no longer bubbling. A smell that resembled rotten-eggs penetrated the air, and Vivi knew it would take weeks for it to air out. The priceless brew had transformed into a complete failure.

And it was all because of that wretched knocking…

The sound in question came again and Vivi's orange eyes blazed in a fiery rage. Her sisters were in for it now...

Her heavy stomping as she approached the door vibrated through the house, shaking the potions in their shelves. Expecting to see her sisters, she thrust open the door and it slammed against the adjacent wall.

"_What?!_" she yelled, making the forest become dead quiet in shock.

Instead of her sisters' red eyes, a familiar brown gaze looked at her with anxiety. The person in front of her quickly composed themselves and sheepishly cleared his throat. "Uh…hi," the man said awkwardly, a touch of fear hidden in his voice. "I, eh, got lost in the forest and I really need to get back home. I accidentally wandered here and thought I could ask for directions…" The brunette cleared his throat again and let his sentence trail off.

The man tried not to squirm as Vivi shamelessly scrutinized him, orange eyes flickering up and down and making his skin crawl nervously. Long, brown hair brushed the back of his neck and he wore a plain, white shirt with red sleeves. He was noticeably taller than her by at least a foot, and lean muscles corded his limbs. There was something about his deep brown eyes that Vivi couldn't describe…something that made her hesitate to immediately cast a hex on the boy (that required something quite special).

After she finished the silent examination, the next thing she did made the man blink in surprise.

Vivi slammed the door in the person's face.

There was a moment of pause as the man stared in shock at the closed, wooden door. Then, as suddenly as it closed, it reopened to reveal Vivi with a long, worn broom in hand. Not sure of what was happening, he stood motionlessly as Vivi tossed one pale leg over the broom.

"Well?" she snapped impatiently. "Are you getting on, or are you just going to stand there gawking all night?"

"But—"

"_Get on!_"

The person reluctantly complied and awkwardly mounted the end of the broom. He had barely enough time to secure his hold on the handle in front of him, when a sudden poof of air sent them flying. In moments the two were flying above the treetops, the wind in their faces and thousands of stars twinkling above them.

His eyes widened incredulously as he tried to take everything in. "Wow, this is amazing!"

"I know I am," Vivi said simply.

The man's eyes were wide as he took everything in. High above, the world was put into a new perspective as they flew across the night sky. A powdery full moon watched them, shedding a pale light over Vivi's wintry skin. The moonbeams made her silvery hair appear to shine like the stars above. The wind breezed past them, gently pushing back the witch's black dress so it brushed against the man's knees. He couldn't decide which was more impressive: the witch in front of him, or flying on a broomstick with a bird's eye view.

"I can't believe that you do this every day," he said, marveling at how smoothly the broom cut through the air. Unlike a plane, the broom was noiseless as it swiftly glided through the dark.

"I don't ride during the day," Vivi amended promptly, not bothering to look back. "I would be easily spotted otherwise."

"What do you mean? Everybody in town knows you live in the forest, right?" he asked. Surely the villages of Castanet would know that a _witch _was living nearby.

The witch shook her head as they passed a solo raven that blended into the shadows. "Of course not. Nobody knows about me except the Wizard…and now you."

"But why? The townsfolk are pretty good people; they wouldn't mind you living nearby."

Vivi snorted. "Ever heard of the witch hunts? I've seen what happens when a witch reveals themselves to others: '_off with their heads_' and '_burn thy devils_'! No thanks, I don't do self-inflicted pain."

The man pursed his lips. She had a good point, but he still didn't think the townsfolk would do something as terrible as that. He couldn't imagine the aloof Mayor Hamilton hurting even a fly. Then another question rose in his mind. "Why are you doing this for me?"

This time Vivi did look back. "Doing what? Getting you out of my forest?"

The man laughed despite the harsh words. "Well, if you want to put it that way…"

"I do." In the corner of her mind, Vivi searched for an explanation for her uncharacteristic actions but when she couldn't draw a conclusion, she instantly turned defensive. "Would you prefer it if I just threw you off my broomstick? The tree branches would stop your fall…if they don't skewer you first."

"Eh, no thanks."

"Then be quiet and stop pestering me."

"Yes ma'am."

One minute.

Two.

Three.

"They accept the Wizard just fine."

"This is not being quiet," she snapped irritably. Did this boy ever shut up? "And they don't fully understand the Wizard's strength; they think he's just some loner who tells cheap fortunes."

"But even if the townsfolk found out, they still wouldn't harm either one of you," he protested stubbornly. "Some of the people might even become your friends."

There was a silence and the man waited patiently for her to speak. Finally, she gave in with a sigh. "Oh, yeah? And who would those people be?"

"Me, for example."

The witch didn't have a comeback for that and let the awkward pause spread. For once, the other rider didn't speak up again. The rest of the journey was spent in a thoughtful silence as they followed the breeze over the trees. The night's air was cool and tickled their skin, though neither commented if they were bothered by it. Finally Vivi pointed the tip of the broom downwards and they swiftly descended. Her feet gently touched the solid ground, quickly followed by the other rider.

"The gate is straight ahead," she directed curtly, not removing her hands from the broomstick.

The man wisely took the hint and swung his leg over the broom, planting both feet onto the forest soil. "Thanks for the lift," he said.

Vivi silently nodded in response, not making eye contact. She was just about to kick off when his voice caused her to pause. "By the way, my name is—"

"Kasey," Vivi interrupted. "Yeah, I know. You told me when you threw an apple at my head."

Kasey was suddenly grateful that the night's shade was dark enough so it covered his blush. "Right…sorry about that."

"Whatever," she grumbled. "You still owe me a potion, mister." Vivi's feet kicked the ground and the broom lifted a foot into the air. Tucking her knees beneath her, she aimed her ride upwards to only be stopped once again.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Kasey called.

Vivi stilled the broomstick but didn't lower it as she looked below. "What is it now?" she called impatiently.

"I never got your name."

Frowning warily, she asked, "Why do you need it?"

The man shrugged. "I just wanted a way to thank you properly, and to do that then I need to know your name."

Vivi considered this for a moment before replying. "Just call me Witch Princess."

With that, she was soaring into the night. Her figure gradually grew smaller in the distance, as the witch followed the light of the moon. Kasey stared after the witch with a dazed look. Right then, he knew that one way or another he would get the forest's witch to trust in people again. And she would start by trusting him...

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**I know that this probably isn't my best work, but I figured I might as well publish it. Anyways, hope you've enjoyed it and please review! Thank you for reading!**


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